Help Me Choose - Our Best Buys for Irons
2015

In our book you don’t want a cheap iron, what you want is the best iron at the cheapest
price.

Here are 5 irons, highly rated by their users that can be had for around £40. Pay that price and
you will get an excellent steam iron that will get you through your ironing chore quickly for two or more
years.

Help me choose

Iron
Model

Overall Users' Satisfaction rating*

Ranked by users

Our comment

Expect to pay around**

Philips GC2920/02

9.50/10

1st

Good for couples

£35

#

Philips GC2930/02

9.36/10

3rd

#

£40

Philips GC4890

9.28/10

4th

Good steamer & auto-off for families

£45

Philips GC3640/22 EnergyCare

9.21/10

6th

Energy saving & auto

£40

#

Morphy Richards 40851

9.20/10

7th

#

£40

*Overall Users' Satisfaction rating – for
effective ironing, ease of use and value for money.** Expect to pay around this price or less at
time of writing (use our cheap irons pages for great
savings)

Each of these models has the steam power to smooth out wrinkles and bust creases in even bone dry,
pure cotton fabric. You get a decent sized water reservoir that probably won’t run dry during a half hour
ironing session. They also power up quickly so are ideal for that shirt or blouse that needs a quick morning
iron.

If you want pure steam power and have lots of cotton items go for the Philips GC4890.

If you’ve got rather more man-made fibres in your clothing check out the Philips GC3640/22 Energy Care
with its ECO settings that are claimed to save energy.

B>

Best Buy Irons 2015 – The Top 10 Steam Irons & What
to Look for

It’s steam power that makes an iron effective. We found 2,460 steam iron owners who had used their
iron for 6 or more weeks.

We asked them to rate their iron out of 10 for steaming power to remove crease, ease of use and
overall value for money.

Here are the 2015 results for the best buys for steam irons arranged by Overall Users’
Satisfaction rating:

Top 10 Steam Irons
2015

Help me choose

Model

Overall
Users' Satisfaction
rating

Ranked by users

Expect to pay**

Family use

For singles & couples

Philips GC2920/02

9.50/10

1st

£35

#

Y

Philips GC2910/02

9.37/10

2nd

£25

#

Y

#

Philips GC2930/02

9.36/10

=3rd

£40

#

Y

#

Morphy Richards 40699

9.36/10

=3rd

£25

#

Y

Philips GC4890

9.28/10

4th

£45

Y

Y

#-

Philips GC4860/02

9.25/10

5th

£50

Y

Y

Philips GC3640/22 EnergyCare

9.21/10

=6th

£40

Y

Y

#-

Philips GC3320/32

9.21/10

=6th

£35

Y

Y

#-

Morphy Richards 40851 Comfigrip

9.20/10

7th

£40

Y

Y

#-

Philips GC4850/02

9.09/10

8th

£45

Y

Y

-#

Morphy Richards 40852

9.00/10

9th

£50

Y

Y

-#

Philips Azur GC4870/02

8.98/10

10th

£75

Y

Y

*Overall Users’ Satisfaction Rating for effective ironing, ease of use and value for money.
** Expect to pay around this price or less for these best buy irons (at time of writing)

C>

Best buy irons 2015 – with ECO Settings and Auto-off
Function

In response to the rising cost of electricity and green concerns, iron manufacturers have introduced both
ECO settings and an auto-off function on some steam iron models.

Top 3 irons with both Auto-off and ECO Settings

Help me choose

Iron Model

Overall
Users' Satisfaction
rating

Auto-off and Eco Setting

Expect to pay around

Philips GC4890

9.28/10

Y

c£45

#

Philips GC4860/02

9.25/10

Y

c£50

Philips GC3640/22 EnergyCare

9.21/10

Y

c£40

The jury is out on these iron ECO settings that claim to save power/save money. Right now you can probably
get the same savings by choosing a powerful steam iron to accomplish your ironing in less time = less
electricity.

Or you could try ironing at the ** instead of the *** setting, although you might find it hard to smooth
creased, pure cotton fabric without the aid of the water spray button.

An auto-off function is both a safety and energy saving feature. If you leave the iron plugged in, but
sitting on its heel or the heat resistant pad of the ironing board for a period of time (usually 20-30 minutes)
the iron will power down and go into hibernation. You revive it by picking it up and running it over a garment
or the ironing board cover.

D>

Best Buy for Irons with a Powerful Steam
Boost

Here are the best buys for irons with a powerful steam boost:

Our tip

Iron Model

Overall Users' Satisfaction rating

Steam Boost

Expect to pay around

Philips GC4890

9.28/10

200g/min

c£45

-

Philips GC4860/02

9.25/10

200g/min

c£50

-

Philips GC4850/02

9.09/10

170g/min

c£45

It’s steam more than heat that will cut through your ironing pile in double quick time.

Steam dampens garments and relaxes fabric. That makes it easier for you to smooth away wrinkles and creases
as you glide the iron sole-plate over the material.